Barrel of the Gun
by Teenage Angst
Summary: [AU/Songfic.] Another love goes cold on a sleepless night... [Squall/Rinoa/Seifer/Quistis.] R+R!


_Title:_ **Barrel of the Gun**  
_By: _**Teenage Angst**  
_Rating: _**R**  
_What for?:_ **Sex! And violence. And Angst.**  
_Summary:_ **Seifer is a naughty boy, and   
Rinoa decided to do something about it.**  
_Catch Phrase: _**In Which… Seifer gets a   
new honey, and Rinoa goes a wee bit over the edge.**  
_Pairing:_ **This one's a doozy. Squall/Rinoa/Seifer/Quistis,  
depending on how you look at it. Whoo-boy. **  
_Type of Fic:_ **Song Fic/AU. "The Thunder Rolls"   
by Garth Brooks. OOOH GOD…**  
_Author's Notes_: **I blame it on Matt1Plus1!   
… Okay, so I haven't actually ever -interacted- with the guy or anything, but ever since I read his one story about Rinoa going a psychotic rampage with Squall, I've been inspired. Thanks, Matt! … May your Chibi Psychotic Rinoas grow and prosper.**  
  
  
_[Three thirty in the morning   
Not a soul in sight   
The city's lookin' like a ghost town   
On a moonless summer night..] _  
  
A completely clear summer morning. Had he hadn't been so preoccupied, he might have taken the time to enjoy it, the bitter cold air coming through the window to his right. He couldn't feel this wind, however, as the body pressed up against him, arms wound around his neck, made him forget any thoughts of the cold.  
"Nnghh.. Oooh,_ Seifer_…" she whispered, hands clawing at his back as he pumped, dragging her nails down his back. He made a noise in the back of his throat, somewhere between a growl and a grunt, head between her generous breasts. Just a little longer…_ make it last forever…_  
But she squeezed her legs around his waist, and they had been going at it for god knew how long, and the combination together left him helpless. He came, unable to do anything but release, and collapsed upon her slender body. She gave a little contented sigh, and brought her face up to kiss him.  
But his mind was elsewhere.   
His eyes drifted, and found the flashing digital clock on the stand beside his lover's bed. It was nearly four in the morning. For a moment, he lay there, frozen in panic, but then logical thoughts overtook any irrational ones. He had to get home.  
"I have to go," it was somewhere along an apology and a reminder to himself. His lover - beautiful blond, with eyes ice pale - pouted her lush lips, but waved him on. Quietly, he grabbed his boxers and slipped them on, before bending down and searching urgently for the rest of his belongings. "I have to get back home before Rinoa wakes up…"  
His lover merely smiled. "Who would be up at this hour, anyways?" She said, reassuring him. Her hand snaked out to touch him, but he veered away from her.  
"I'll be back," he promised.  
"Tomorrow?" she stretched out, her movements cat-like.  
"Tomorrow," he agreed, and kissed her once before heading out to the car.  
Overhead, in the dark of the morning, he could see the black clouds gathering overhead, and the sound of thunder overhead. It was going to rain.  
  
_[Raindrops on the windshield   
There's a storm moving in   
He's headin' back from somewhere   
That he never should have been   
And the thunder rolls   
And the thunder rolls…] _  
  
He drove across the country-side, watching the houses roll by as quick as lightning. Overhead, the clouds rumbled, and the first drops of rain touched his windshield, followed by the low rumbling of thunder. Then the world was completely still.  
…And it remained still, before the rain suddenly came down without warning, this time drumming on the top and sides of his car with such force that he nearly jumped.   
  
  
_[Every light is burnin'   
In a house across town   
She's pacin' by the telephone   
In her faded flannel gown…]_  
  
He hadn't even came home, even after work.  
It wasn't the first time something of this nature had occured, true, but this time it especially worried her. Most of the time he came home a couple of hours later, around ten or so. But this time - it was especially late - the latest he had ever been. Every time he came in, however, the excuse was the same -  
"I had to stay after work," he would say, and that charming, apologetic smile was in place as he took her into his arms, brushing the dark hair from her face. "A guy was out sick, and because of it, I had to work after-hours. I'm sorry, baby…" he would kiss her, surprisingly gentle for a man with such a hard outer exterior. "…I should have called."  
This episode of his dissaperance was even more unexpected then usual - she now being nine months pregnant with his child and could be going into labor any day now, as the doctor said. Seifer had promised, as soon as he had discovered, that he wouldn't be late from work again if he could help it - not so far along in her pregnancy. Yet here she was, all alone…  
By the telephone, she stood, and waited; waiting for an explanation from him, or…  
  
_[…Askin' for miracle   
Hopin' she's not right   
Prayin' it's the weather   
That's kept him out all night   
And the thunder rolls   
And the thunder rolls…] _  
  
What was she waiting for? Perhaps a call from the police, maybe - a call telling her the devastating news - her husband had been killed on the way from work to home, colliding with another car at high speeds, unable to see the oncoming traffic due to the weather. And his reasoning for being so late?  
_ "He was out to buy you flowers, ma'am."_  
A tragic ending, for a perfect tragic love story. This, she figured, waiting there by the phone, arms crossed his chest, would have been a lot easier to accept then what she was thinking was his real reason for being late…  
_  
[The thunder rolls…  
And the lightnin' strikes   
Another love grows cold   
On a sleepless night   
As the storm blows on   
Out of control   
Deep in her heart   
The thunder rolls ..]_  
  
She knew why he was late, but she was so desperately in love with him that she refused to believe it. It made her sick inside to think about it; yet alone believe it, well…  
But she had people - the town was so small, after all, that the news traveled fast - about his wherabouts, and who he was with, and doing what exactly. Perhaps everyone in the whole area knew it, except her. That is, knew it and accepted it. Oh, she knew… but she didn't believe. Never. Never, ever. Seifer was a good man. He could never, not in a million years…  
_A ring, from the phone. Another night, Seifer hadn't come home. She rushed over to the phone and picked it up, thankful that he called in for a formal apology, and a reassurance that he would be home soon. But instead, she was greeted by a familiar, but unexpected voice.  
"Rinoa?"  
"Squall…?"  
"Rinoa, I really don't like to butt into other people's buisnesses, but I think this is something you shouldn't be left in the dark about…" She held her breath, awaiting for the blow.  
"I saw Seifer tonight."  
She let out a sigh of relief. "He's okay, right? He's not hurt, right?"  
"He's fine," Squall answered, "But uh.. he might not be, after you hear this."  
"What is it?"  
"I… saw him out with another woman tonight, Rinoa. She was so beautiful… I thought maybe she was a co-worker or something, but he… he kissed her."  
".. Oh." She wasn't surprised at how hollow she sounded, or that her hands were trembling. She wanted to scream, or throw something. Ohgodohgodnonononno…  
"I know her. Listen, Rinoa, I don't want you to get hurt. Her name is Q-"  
"You're lying," trembling with rage, and confusion, and hurt.   
"… What?"  
"You're lying!" her voice rose up in several pitches, and she sounded like a wounded, dying animal, not sweet, perfect Rinoa.  
"Rinoa, I-"  
"Seifer is a good man. He would NEVER-"  
"Rinoa, listen to me, please…"  
"NO!"_  
Two months ago, her first 'witness' came forth, followed by many more to come, and she still refused to believe it. She had thought, in the beginning, that Squall was making it up, due to the fact that it was a pretty well-known fact that the two didn't get along very well. She thought Squall was just making these things up because…  
Well, she couldn't really see why Squall would come forth with such 'false' information, but it didn't matter. The man was just trying to ruin a perfectly functional relationship she held with Seifer. Jerk.   
But as more and more people came forth with these 'sightings', she found that she pulled a cocoon around herself, hiding herself from the truth. Lost in her little fantasy where Seifer was the best husband he could be… and soon-to-be father…  
_  
[She's waitin' by the window..  
When he pulls into the drive  
She rushes out to hold him   
Thankful he's alive..]_  
  
She saw a flash of headlights, and looked up from the phone. Seifer was home, pulling up in the driveway, windshield wipers at full speed. With a hum, the car shut down, and the world became dead quiet. Relieved to see his face, she rushed outside and onto the porch to greet him.  
He was soaked and dripping wet and cold, but she didn't care. She threw her arms around his neck, round body bumping against his well-toned one. She held back the tears of relief and buried her face against his collarbone…  
…Only to get a whiff of the sweet smell of perfume, that wasn't her's.  
  
_ [And on the wind and rain  
A strange new perfume blows   
And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes   
And he knows that she knows   
And the thunder rolls   
And the thunder rolls…]_  
  
For a moment, she was stunned to silence. Seifer was in the middle of his apology.  
"I'm sorry baby, but I-" he, too, came to a halt, sensing her distress. Her grip on his body had gone slack for a moment, and he looked down at her in confusion.  
"You all right, Rin?"  
She bowed her head and shook her head. For a moment, she squeezed her eyes close, but before she could, he caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes, and began to worry.  
_ I wonder if…? … No…._  
"You've been lying," she choked out, willing herself not to cry. Don't be such a baby…  
"Rinoa," his voice was half stern, half panic. She didn't respond right away, and he shook her, not violently, but in a way to receive a response. "Rinoa, answer me!!"  
"Rinoa, I don't want you to get hurt…" Squall's voice echoed hollowly in her ears, and her eyes opened. The lightning flashed from just beyond Seifer, and he knew what she knew.  
  
_ [The thunder rolls…  
And the lightnin' strikes  
Another love grows cold   
On a sleepless night   
As the storm blows on   
Out of control   
Deep in her heart   
The thunder rolls…]_  
  
"Seifer, how could you…" She was sobbing now, hands buried in her own hands. The tears flowed, hot rivers, running over her cheeks and into her open palms, smashed so close against her face that she could hardly breathe.  
"Rinoa, what are you talking about?" he put his hands gently on both of her shoulders, staring down at her, in hopes that she had come to a conclusion that wasn't what he thought it was… _Hyne, don't tell me…_  
"Squall was right… Squall was _right_…" she half-moaned, half-cried, wrenching away from his grasp. He stumbled, watching as she turned to head back inside of the house. His hand caught her back, and he forced her to face him.  
"Don't touch me!" she wailed, and hit at him uselessly. He was a lot taller, and a long stronger then she, and her weak hits hardly effected him.   
"What did Squall tell you?!" Seifer demanded, and didn't receive the verbal response he was looking for - merely a choked sob. He shook her, violently this time. "WHAT DID THAT FUCKING PUBERTY BOY TELL YOU?!"  
"I can't believe you," she was still crying, but there was something else mixed with that sadness in the depths of her eyes: hatred. It was so powerful, so radiating, that Seifer couldn't help but release her, furious.  
"Rinoa," he said, voice deadly calm. "What did he-"  
"How could you?" she shrieked, voice several pitches above normal. And Seifer found himself afraid. Quite afraid. He reached out again, but once again, she evaded it, backing up the steps to the porch, pregnant body drenched and shivering as she reached backwards for the screen door. "I'm here pregnant with your child and all you can do is HAVE ONE NIGHT STANDS WITH THAT _BITCH_!"  
"Rinoa!" So she knew. He had a sinking feeling inside. "It's not true! I- I swear!" She scrambled inside the house, the screen door banging behind her. Seifer broke into a run behind her. "RINOA! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"  
  
_ [… She runs back down the hallway  
Reaches for the bedroom door…]_  
  
She was a full-fledged run, now, and she could hear his hurried footsteps behind her. Down the winding hallway, through the foundation of the house that they had built together…The world, seemingly, the had built together…  
All this time, she cried to her inner monologue. All this time he's been out fucking around behind my back, and since now, I've been too blind to realize it.   
The world around her that, now, was tragically coming apart.   
  
_ [She reaches for the pistol  
Kept in the dresser drawer…]_  
  
She entered the room, gasping and out of breath. Her hands, fleetingly, went to her swollen belly, then to her eyes, angrily wiping away the tears. That bastard was going to get what was coming to him.  
Her coffee-colored eyes, once beautiful, now lined with blotchy red due to her state, searched the room frantically. Then she caught sight of it. The dresser drawer.  
She opened it up and searched for a moment, finally getting to what she was looking for. Bingo. The pistol Seifer had carelessly put there, what seemed like eons ago, with a word of caution. When she had questioned what he needed it for he had smiled and simply said: "For emergencies."  
Well, this was an emergency, wasn't it? She could hear him tearing around behind her. To her own surprise, she found herself smiling, maybe even laughing as she opened the pistol up and put a new round in the chamber. She turned to make her exit, pausing once to check her reflection in the mirror.  
_ I'm sorry Squall,_ she apologized inside, even though she knew he couldn't hear it. _That I ever doubted you… But I wont make the same mistake twice._  
  
_ [Tells the lady in the mirror..  
He wont do this again…]_  
  
What a sorry sight the person looking back at her was.  
Smiling too, despite the red-eyes and blotchy skin, and the trembling, soaked body, with the gun in her hands, shaking threateningly. The hair, tangled and in dissaray, plastered to her neck.   
"He wont do this again, you know," she said, conversationally to the reflection staring back at her, wide-eyed. Insanity. Raving mad. "I'll make sure of that."  
And she turned to open the door, only to find Seifer on the other side, about to turn the knob. He seemed shocked by her presence, and her smile, but even more shocked when he saw what was wavering in her hand, pointed at his chest.  
_  
[Cause tonight will be the last time  
She'll wonder where he's been.]_  
  
"Rinoa.. don't do anything drastic," he put his hands in the air, as a way of defense. Or surrender, perhaps? Her smile grew.  
"All this time," she said, smile still in place. "I refused to believe everyone…"  
"Rin…"  
"All this time," she repeated, voice laced with venom. "I _believed_ you were a good man…"  
"Rin! Please…"  
"How long have I stood by the phone, awaiting your return? How many times-" her hand lifted even higher, and she took a step back, gun now pointed at his neck. "-Have you given me a false smile and an equally false apology and excuse?"  
"Hyne, Rinoa, please, I'm begging you, put the gun down…"  
"Do you love me, Seifer?" Maniacal smile. Somewhere, the sun was shining brightly, children were playing, and couples were holding hands… Somewhere, it was spring time, and young girls and young boys were falling in love with one another, all thanks to destiny… Somewhere, the world was perfect.  
"What?"  
But not here.  
"Do you love me, Seifer?"  
"Yes, Rinoa! Yes, I do-"  
"Then that's all I needed to know."  
It was a swift, deadly motion. The gun raised to the highest, most fatal point to a man - aimed directly at Seifer Almasy's forehead. She didn't even pause, didn't even hesitant - but she did scream, rising and bursting through her throat as the gun went off, with such force that it threw her backwards and knocked her to the floor. She watched Seifer's surprised expression…  
..Before bullet connected with sweet, sweet flesh, and she blew out the back of his skull.  
For a moment, he seemed perfectly alive, mouth open like a fish out of water. Alive, that is, for a person who had a gaping hole in the front of his head. Blood and matter and gore hit the sides of the hallway wall behind him before he staggered and toppled, like some sort of morbid decoration. He fell directly on top of her, but at the last second, she rolled away and hit the wall.  
The only sound in the house was the ringing of the gun in her hear, her heart-beat, and her shuddering breath. She blinked and the gun dropped from her hand lifelessly, eyes focused on the prone body that once had belonged to Seifer Almasy.  
But it wasn't the man she once knew. It was just a corpse now.  
And Rinoa Heartilly, heart-broken, but thankful to have the demons put to rest, curled up into a tight little ball, and wept.  
How long she lay there was a mystery, even there, but she did not stir, nay, not until the first signs of daylight streamed through her bedroom window. It was only then that she could muster up the strength and pull herself to her feet. She wandered over to the telephone, ignoring the stains on the wall and floor, and the body at her feet. It was then, and only then, that she picked up the phone, contemplating what to do…  
…And decided that she would call Squall, after all.  
  
_[And the thunder rolls..._]   
  
** ..Fin..**  
  
  
_Love it? Hate it? Drop me a review and tell me what you think!  
  
  
_  



End file.
